Work will continue on the mode of synthesis and assembly of the bacterial cell wall, primarily in Staphylococcus aureus. A cell-free system is available which synthesizes all known polymers and links them to each other. The work will be directed to improve the efficiency of the system and to identify the reactions involved in linking teichoic acid to peptidoglycan. Research will continue on the isolation of components responsible for cell adhesion in the embryonal nervous system. The main emphasis over the next year will be the study of cultured neuronal lines, and the effects of trophic factors on the development of cell surface specificities.